Yūgao Uzuki
is an Anbu of Konohagakure. Background In the anime, during her childhood, Yūgao was selected to join the Anbu due to her skill in kenjutsu and sensory abilities. During her early years as an Anbu, Yūgao served under Kakashi Hatake, looking up to him as a role model.Naruto: Shippūden episode 355 Four years after the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, Kakashi was ordered to investigate one of the secret labs belonging to Orochimaru. Upon returning, Kakashi informed the Third Hokage of a Root member who saved him but would be punished by Danzō Shimura for failing his mission. Hiruzen then gave a letter requesting Danzō to meet with him to Yūgao, who quickly rushed to the Root headquarters. Upon arriving, the guards insisted that Danzō was not there at the moment. Yūgao left to report to Hiruzen, soon after returning with the Hokage in time to save Kakashi and a Wood Release user named "Kinoe" from Danzō's punishment.Naruto: Shippūden episode 356 Six years later, when Itachi Uchiha was promoted to Anbu captain and removed from Team Ro, Yūgao, much to her delight, was assigned as his replacement under Kakashi's command. Later, Yūgao and her new team were mobilised to investigate the recent Uchiha Clan Downfall, where Yūgao found the sole survivor, Sasuke Uchiha.Naruto: Shippūden episode 359 At some point, Hayate was chosen to be Yūgao's instructor in kenjutsu; the time the two of them spent training together eventually led to them falling in love with one another.Naruto: Shippūden episode 308 Personality Of the little that has been seen of her, she seems to be a caring and loyal person. She has also been described as someone that puts herself all into whatever she does and enjoys watching the moon, which might be a pun on the meaning of her name. In the anime, it is shown that Hayate's death left an emotional scar on her, leading her to avoid any form of combat until Sakura made her change her mind. Appearance Yūgao is a young woman with straight, purple hair reaching down to her waist, warm brown eyes, and a shade of red lipstick. As an Anbu member, Yūgao wears a porcelain mask resembling a cat with three red stripes — one vertical stripe on the forehead and two horizontal stripes, one on each cheek. She also wears the standard Anbu uniform, consisting of black and grey armour, metal arm guards and a katana strapped to her back. She has the signature Anbu tattoo on her right shoulder. Abilities Though her skills are yet to be displayed in the manga, as an Anbu member, Yūgao is a highly skilled kunoichi. In the anime, her skills are greatly expanded on. As a young child, Yūgao was allowed to join the Anbu for her talents. Ninjutsu In the anime, Yūgao's skill in sealing objects into scrolls got her assigned to the Logistical Support and Medical Division, where she would seal away shinobi corpses. In addition, she would assist in basic medical care, implying some skill in the art. Yūgao is also a proficient tracker and sensor, as she was explicitly requested to help retrieve the KIA stolen from her division, and could easily track down the thieves.Naruto: Shippūden episode 307 Kenjutsu While in the manga, her skill in kenjutsu is unknown, the anime expands on this. She carries one of the standard katana of the Anbu. In the anime, it was revealed that she spent years training with Hayate — a skilled kenjutsu expert himself — nearly equaling his proficiency and skill level. She is well-versed in a variety of kenjutsu techniques, including the Dance of the Crescent Moon and the Hazy Moon Night, which all allow her to strike with great speed and complex movements that make it difficult for her opponents to react. Part I Chūnin Exams In the anime, after Kabuto Yakushi killed the Anbu stationed at Konoha Hospital which were guarding Sasuke Uchiha, Yūgao and two other Anbu rendezvoused at the hospital and met with the Third Hokage and Kakashi. While discussing the matter, Hayate abruptly barged in after hearing about the attack, but was relieved when he saw Yūgao alive. Afterwards, Hiruzen assigned Hayate the task of tracking down Kabuto, much to Yūgao's concern. Before Hayate left for his mission, Yūgao promised that she would come to Hayate's aid if he needed help and the two promised to always love each other. The following morning, she and her Anbu squad discovered Hayate's corpse after he was killed. Konoha Crush During the Konoha Crush, Yūgao visited the memorial stone where Hayate's name had been engraved and swore to avenge him before leaving with her Anbu squad. After the civilians of the village were evacuated, her squad engaged the enemy. After the attack, she visited the memorial again during the Third Hokage's funeral, where she has a conversation with Kakashi Hatake who was also there. Interlude In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths In the anime, when it was decided between Konohagakure and Sunagakure to host an early Chūnin Exams between them, Yūgao and other select Anbu were sent to deliver an invitation to the other ninja villages.Naruto Shippūden episode 394 Part II Twelve Guardian Ninja In the anime, Yūgao briefly appeared catching Sora spying on Danzō Shimura's interrogation of Tatsuji while hiding in the ceiling. She and her squad apprehended him, and turned him over to Tsunade. Once caught, Sora tried a failed attempt to attack Asuma with his demonic formed arm. Yūgao and another Anbu member attempted to stop him, but both, however, got injured.Naruto: Shippūden episode 64 Pain's Assault In the anime, Yūgao was one of the four Anbu protecting Tsunade as she was using Katsuyu to tend to the villagers. Soon after, Pain was spotted and when Tsunade moved to confront him, they followed her as well. After Pain unleashed a large-scale Shinra Tensei and decimated the entire village, however, she was seen flying away, along with Tsunade and the other Anbu.Naruto: Shippūden episode 159 Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation In the anime, Yūgao was one of the ninja who were working for the Logistical Support and Medical Division. She was responsible for the safekeeping of shinobi corpses which carry valuable intel such as their kekkei genkai. During the corpse infiltration, Yūgao would meet once again a reincarnated Hayate, who was forced to steal the KIA scroll. Much to Yūgao's dismay, she would later on be forced to procure the stolen scroll from Kabuto Yakushi's minions. They caught up with them and sealed Hayate's comrades but Yūgao was unable to fight with her former lover, so other team members got wounded while protecting her. She then tried to leave, but was stopped by Sakura Haruno, who asked her about her inability to fight. She claimed that the only reason she had left the Anbu was because of the loss of Hayate. While she originally continued to fight to avenge him, she was eventually pushed to the point of emotionally snapping, forcing her to see a sword as a symbol of his death. Sakura then stated they must fight with this "unforgivable" technique and went to retrieve the scroll on her own, but Yūgao eventually caught up with her. She and Hayate clashed with their Dance of the Crescent Moon techniques and later she used her Hazy Moon Night against his Secret Sword: Moonlight. He praised her improvement in kenjutsu, but then Kabuto attempted to take over his consciousness against his will. Hayate seemingly pinned Yūgao to a tree, but thanks to him fighting with control she was unharmed and managed to pierce him. Hayate was later sealed and the mission ended with a success when they retrieved the scroll. In Other Media Video Games In Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 and Naruto Shippūden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3, she possesses techniques similar to Hayate's. It is unknown if she uncovered the identity of Hayate's killer, though her battle cry when using Dance of the Crescent Moon when fighting Baki in the game changes to "Revenge… for Hayate!". This battle cry is only heard if it is used on Baki, and it is used in both games. She has a small role in the game's storyline, appearing in the antagonists' hideout to save Naruto, Kakashi, Gaara, and Sakura from a group of missing-nin, stating that the Anbu would take care of the situation. However, she does not appear in the story after this. She also has a collaboration technique with Kakashi. Trivia * "Uzuki" is the old name for the fourth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, while "Yūgao" means "moon-flower". * According to the databook(s): ** Her hobby is moon viewing. * In the manga, it was Gazeru instead of Yūgao who was guarding Tsunade in the Pain's Assault arc.Naruto chapter 422 * There were no indications of Yūgao's inability to fight after Hayate's death in earlier appearances of her in the anime, like the Pain's Assault arc. * In the anime, within Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, Yūgao was part of Root and was one of its best members, alongside Hayate Gekkō, Anko Mitarashi, and Sai.Naruto: Shippūden episode 444 Quotes * (To Hayate) "Just call on me, Hayate… And I'll come running! When things are being really tough… If you need me, I promise to save you!" * (To Hayate) "The moon always changes shape… A promise made on something like that is bound to be distorted." * (To Sakura about Hayate)'' "In the end… he protected me."'' References de:Yuugao Uzuki